How to Get Rid of Gas Smell in House

November 27, 2021

Dec 14, 2013

I just woke up at 4:30am to the smell of gas. It turns out my car has a hole in the gas tank. It was parked in garage for the last 5 hours, and the leak wasn't huge. We have the mess cleaned up in the garage as much as we can for now, but the entire house smells like gas. I currently have 3 windows open. The patio door is also open, with a box fan running. It just smells so horrible, and I don't want my kitties to get sick from the fumes (I feel just fine). The problem with opening windows up is that it's currently 17 degrees and snowing pretty hard. I'm freezing!
Does anyone have any ideas? I googled it and found nothing.
amakaye Enthusiast

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Dec 14, 2013

When we've had some bad smells at school, they put out large pans (like those disposable roasting pans) with charcoal, which absorbed the odors.
a2z Virtuoso

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Dec 14, 2013

It should go without saying, but many people no longer use charcoal. There are two kinds. One kind has lighter fluid in it, and one DOES NOT have lighter fluid in it. You need the kind without the lighter fluid. Check the bag carefully.
amakaye Enthusiast

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Caesar753 Multitudinous

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Dec 14, 2013

I also vote for something like charcoal or even kitty litter.
Are you sure you soaked up all the liquid gas?

Open up the garage door if it's not already open.

As bad as it is, you will probably still need to have your windows open for a while. Get a second box fan; put one in a window on one side of your house facing INTO the house, and put the other in a window on the opposite side of your house facing OUT OF the house. This will create a lot of air movement out of your house, which will speed up the removal of the smell.
Dec 14, 2013

The smell is gone, thanks everyone! We put kitty litter on the gas in the garage, opened the door, and had the windows open for about an hour. I also turned my scentsy on. I had to wash some of the clothes that we were wearing a few times to get rid of the smell, but I think it's finally gone.
The weird thing is that the leak seems to be gone. I drove my car around today, and everything seemed fine. I parked my car in the snow-covered driveway, and there wasn't any in the snow. So frustrating!
Irishdave Enthusiast

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Dec 19, 2013

I guess lighting a match is out of the question?
kcjo13 Phenom

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Dec 19, 2013

I know you said the smell was gone, but in case others read this-one time we had a skunk sneak onto our porch, and when the dogs found out it sprayed directly onto our house. It was awful! Someone suggested to me to set out coffee grounds and charcoal-it really worked. The charcoal soaked it up, and the coffee kind of masked the smell.